ESPAÑOLA – The second meeting between the Los Alamos Hilltoppers and the Española Valley Sundevils played out very much like their first meeting did.
And, unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, the result was the same as well.
Los Alamos advanced to the District 2-4A girls basketball semifinals to take on the Sundevils and, for the third time in as many go-rounds, the Sundevils prevailed.
Española Valley jumped out to a big early lead, going up by as many as 13 points in the first half, then survived a second half comeback attempt by Los Alamos to prevail 61-48 Thursday at Edward Medina Gymnasium.
The loss knocks the Hilltoppers out of the district tournament. They now must wait until Sunday evening to see if they’ve done enough to qualify for the state tournament.
Hilltopper head coach Ann Stewart believes her team will get into the playoffs, but probably on the lower end of the bracket.
“Based on our record, we’re probably going to get a 14 seed,” she said.

Registration is now open for the 2014 Los Alamos Little League baseball and softball seasons.
LALL is accepting registrations for boys and girls ages 5 and up. Registration continues through March 15.
For more information, visit lalittleleague.org or email info@lalittleleague.org.

The Los Alamos Hilltopper girls basketball team will take on the Española Valley Sundevils for the right to advance to the District 2-4A tournament championship game.
Los Alamos will hit the road to face the Sundevils. The Hilltoppers will not only have to deal with the Sundevils, who are among the top teams in the state, but a likely hostile crowd at Edward Medina Gymnasium.
Game time is 7 p.m.
This will be the third meeting of the season between Los Alamos and Española Valley. Española Valley won both previous games and both by 9-point margins, including a 57-48 win in Española late last month.
The Hilltopper-Sundevil series has been dominated by Española Valley in recent years. Española Valley has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two.

The Los Alamos Hilltopper tennis teams will head to their third contest of the young spring season Friday.
Los Alamos will take part in the Farmington Quad tournament, which is hosted by Farmington’s Scorpions through Saturday.
Along with the Hilltoppers and Scorpions, the Scorpions’ cross-town rivals, the Piedra Vista Panthers, are also expected to participate.
The Hilltopper girls are entering this season as the defending state Class 4A champions. Last May, the Hilltoppers stunned the Scorpions in the final round of the state tournament to earn their eighth victory in program history.
But Los Alamos lost several players to graduation off that team, most notably its top doubles team of Gillian Hsieh-Ratliff and Madeline Margevicius, as well as one of its top singles players, Colleen Fitzsimmons.
The Hilltopper girls team has 18 players on its current roster, including returners Laura Whicker and Astrid Hengartner.
Meanwhile, the Hilltopper boys have a good chunk of their personnel returning this season, most notably senior Nikita Belooussov and freshman George Margevicius.
Los Alamos advanced a pair of doubles teams to last year’s state 4A tournament,

One of the big challenges facing the Los Alamos Hilltopper girls basketball team this season is putting together four solid quarters.
But that’s what Los Alamos has been shooting for here at the end of the season, and in its last two games, it has gotten closer.
Los Alamos opened up its District 2-4A tournament run Tuesday night at home with a big win over the Bernalillo Spartans. Los Alamos survived a big bump in the road at the tail end of the first half to bounce back in the second half.
The Hilltoppers’ Amber Logan and Kiana Zerr had big performances in the second half, with Logan taking control of the game when her team needed her most, to earn a 72-62 decision over the Spartans.
Logan dropped in 10 of her 14 points after the break to lead the Hilltoppers back after what could’ve been a game-changing run by the Spartans in the second quarter.
Logan said Los Alamos is playing with the mindset that it must still earn its way into the playoffs and survive as long as it can to make its best argument with the selection committee.
“We felt like we have to win if we want to get into the state tournament,” the junior point guard said. “In the second half, we came out and worked our butts off.”

BERNALILLO — Setting itself up with chances wasn’t the problem for the Los Alamos Hilltopper boys basketball team Monday night.
Finishing was another story.
Los Alamos fell on the road at Bernalillo in the District 2-4A tournament, a loss which ended the Hilltoppers’ 2013-14 season.
Los Alamos was within striking distance at the end of the first half, but went cold in the third quarter, falling in that contest 59-50.
Bernalillo will now move on to play the Santa Fe Demons in the quarterfinal round of the 2-4A tournament. That game is set for tonight.
Los Alamos, which had high hopes to turn its season around in district play, never got on track. It went 1-8 in district despite facing teams that have, like itself, struggled to find consistency night in and night out.
The Hilltoppers were limited to just three points for the bulk of the third quarter after chopping a 9-point Spartan lead down to just two by the break. The Spartans took advantage, opening up an 8-point cushion heading into the final quarter.
“This was a lot like the first time we played down here,” said Los Alamos head coach Mike Kluk. “We got to within four points, but we just couldn’t get closer. That was partially due to our own mistakes.”

The Los Alamos Hilltopper girls basketball team will head into tonight’s District 2-4A second round off a big win over the weekend.
Los Alamos needed overtime, but it tripped up the Artesia Bulldogs Saturday afternoon, 57-56 at a neutral site game in Vaughn.
Saturday’s game was the regular season finale for both teams — a game that came about because Los Alamos’ game originally scheduled wit Albuquerque Academy earlier this season was canceled and Artesia was the only taker to fill that hole in the Hilltoppers’ schedule.
But with the Hilltoppers’ win, it became a happy turn of events. The Hilltoppers and Bulldogs went into the game with similar records and a similar ranking according to the MaxPreps.com website, which is a key factor in the judging the playoff-worthiness of teams around the state.
With that victory, Los Alamos (12-14) took a big step toward securing an at-large bid into the state playoffs.
However, Los Alamos has a chance to make an at-large nod unnecessary.
The Hilltoppers will face the Bernalillo Spartans in the first round of the District 2-4A tournament tonight. Game time is 7 p.m. at Griffith Gymnasium.

The Los Alamos Hilltopper boys basketball team will begin its run through the District 2-4A tournament tonight when it takes on Bernalillo.

Tonight's game is set for 7 p.m. in Bernalillo. It will be broadcast on KRSN.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Los Alamos won the first meeting in December but lost two in District 2-4A regular season play.

This will be the last chance for the Hilltoppers to qualify for the Class 4A tournament. However, in order for them to do so, the Hilltoppers will have to win four consecutive games on the road to earn the tournament championship.

The winner of tonight's game will play Santa Fe, the No. 3 seed, Tuesday night.

In girls basketball, the Capital Jaguars will face the Bernalillo Spartans this evening. The winner will take on Los Alamos at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Also tonight, the Santa Fe Demons and the Espanola Valley Sundevils will meet in a one-game playoff to determine the district champion and the No. 1 seed for the girls tournament. That game will be at 7 p.m. at Griffith Gymnasium.